What Does China think?

This is about the book "What does China think?" from Mark Leonard.


What does China think?

11.02.08 - Mark Leonard

We know all about the statistics of China's rise - dizzying growth rates, vast currency reserves, new cities built every week - but we have heard very little about China as a powerhouse of ideas about politics, economics and world order. In my latest book, to be published by Fourth Estate on 18 February, I will look at the Chinese model of globalisation which I argue could re-shape the face of Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. I am trying to show how experiments with focus groups and opinion polls are changing China from a traditional authoritarian state to a new 'deliberative dictatorship', and reveal how Beijing hopes to use a "China Dream" to challenge the US' military power. 

The book charts the development of a new Chinese world view and identifies the following different factions battling for influence:


The "New Left" who want a gentler form of capitalism with a social safety net that could reduce inequality and protect the environment;
The "New Right" who think that freedom will only come when the public sector is dismantled and sold off, and a new, politically active "propertied class" emerges;
The "Neo-Comms", cousins of American neo-cons, want to use military modernisation, cultural diplomacy and international law to assert China's power in the world. I argue that in the future, the West willl be just as interested in the Chinese "Neo-Comms" plans for Asia as it is now in the "Neo-Cons" attempts to reshape the Middle East. Soon, the political struggle in the Communist Party will be seen as vital as the battle between the US presidential contenders; and protesters outside the World Bank will complain as much about the "Beijing Consensus" as they do about the "Washington Consensus".

And this is a video conversation of Harry Kresiler with Mark. Its about the theme of the book and gives some personal impressions about background of Mark Leonard too.


Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Mark Leonard, Executive Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, for a discussion of the ideas that are influencing the domestic and foreign policy debates in China. Through a careful examination of what Chinese intellectuals have to say on topics such as democracy, economy, and international relations, Leonard finds distinctive Chinese worldviews. The West must understand the contours of these debates to effectively address China's rise because they offer important insights into how China will use its enormous power to shape world order in the twenty-first century.

Conversations With History - Mark Leonard